


review

by anachronist



Series: a measure of time and effort [1]
Category: CLAMP - Works, xxxHoLic, モブサイコ100 | Mob Psycho 100
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, Please don't repost this fic on other sites, Shopkeeper Watanuki, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:02:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24358528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anachronist/pseuds/anachronist
Summary: Apart from the Doumeki line, the humans he saw these days were customers.The teenager approaching his porch from the gate was the sole exception to that rule.
Series: a measure of time and effort [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1758682
Comments: 20
Kudos: 70
Collections: Clever Crossovers & Fantastic Fusions





	review

**Author's Note:**

> Might fix that title and other things once I get more coffee.
> 
> Part one of yet another series.

Apart from the Doumeki line, the humans he saw these days were customers. The teenager approaching his porch from the gate was the sole exception to that rule, his plain appearance belying the brilliant show of colors coiled tightly around his form, waiting to be used.

Kageyama Shigeo was a powerful esper. Watanki had no doubt the boy would only grow stronger over time, if even the malevolent half-formed miasma constantly pressing against the Shop's barriers shrank away at his approach from the far end of the street. 

"Here again?" Watanuki asked, upturning the bowl of his pipe over his ash tray to put out the embers: a courtesy reserved for younger guests, and curled his finger. Pale smoke followed suit, spiraling around the digit and drifted into the Shop when he pointed, away from the teen.

"Un." Kageyama's hands trembled as he presented the two-tiered bento he brought, neatly wrapped in a crisp, patterned cloth. Reading his expressions was awfully similar to deciphering Doumeki Shizuka's, and less irritating: the minute press of his mouth was a far cry from that guy's smug confidence. "Here. For the other time."

Watanuki's gaze softened as he accepted the offering. His own appetite far from a bottomless pit and his sense of taste was still gone, unrecoverable with his first set of memories, but he could still appreciate the effort put into a meal's preparation.

Besides, this wasn't just for him. He wasn't the one who did the footwork. 

"Thank you." The ashtray was nudged aside, and he placed the bento on the cleared space. Slender fingers undid the elaborate knot, and he parted the cloth to reveal black lacquer. "I'll give Sayaka his share. Did you make this?"

Kageyama shook his head.

"Master did. I helped."

The one Kageyama mentioned before. Reigen Arataka, named as one “strikingly blessed by the gods,” self-proclaimed number one psychic of his generation. The website Sayaka found was one lengthy scammer's sales pitch, but Kageyama held the man in such high esteem, and there was no denying the humaneness in the guidelines Reigen set.

Emphasizing that one's powers were not what made people special was a rare thing, and the shopkeeper's seen plenty of malicious individuals over the decades.

"Did he now," Watanuki murmured, lifting the lid to find perfectly arranged rows of vegetables and karaage around a mound of rice. He could see Reigen's influence in its thoughtful preparation, the practiced cuts, the choice of cloth. The man seemed well-versed in both making home made dishes and presenting them, and wasn't this a curious twist that separated him from being just another smooth-talking salesman? Kageyama mentioned he'd been taught to not accept money for something he hadn't earned, and this child wasn't one who lied. " _Both_ of you did well."

Judging by the flush on Kageyama's cheeks and the head scratch that followed, the teen appreciated being included in the compliment.

"...thank you," Kageyama said, shifting on his feet. "U-um. Is Doumeki-san here?"

"Out on an errand."

"Oh." Kageyama's shoulders drooped. 

"He'll be here before dinner," Watanuki smiled, placing a comforting hand on the boy's back. Was it any wonder that this uncertain child liked that guy's descendants? Not that such unreadable expressions were easy to deal with, but he could see why Kageyama might find that stubborn demeanor relatable, even inspiring. "If you're willing to wait, we can have tea, and he can walk you home if it gets too late. You came from work?"

Kageyama shook his head, though he sat up a little straighter.

"Master told me to take the day off," he said, looking up, the gloom clearing from his expression. "I have to study for exams."

Tests? Watanuki made a thoughtful sound, rubbing his chin. Kageyama did mention having problems figuring out his homework over tea once, and Sayaka, in not so many words, offered to help. So this was about that?

Well, there was nothing for it. Sayaka _had_ followed his great grandfather's footsteps and was now preparing for his teaching license. Now, Watanuki would be able to witness what sort of teaching technique someone like him would employ.

"Right," he nodded, collected his ashtray, and stood up. "I'll make tea."

And snacks. And begin preparing dinner, since two bento boxes were no match for a Doumeki's appetite, and he wasn't about to let Kageyama starve.

000

Shigeo waited for the doors to slide shut before speaking to the spirit that materialized on his other side.

"He still can't see you?"

"No," Doumeki Shizuka said, calm as always. He looked exactly like Sayaka, his great-grandson, and the only way Shigeo could tell the two apart was thanks to both Shizuka's preference for traditional clothing and the infinitesimal golden thread that trailed out from the corner of his right eye, connecting to Watanuki's. "You shouldn't keep asking him."

The teen nodded - to the first part, at least - and scratched his cheek. Shizuka told him before that Watanuki wouldn't like seeing him here, and his deep frown discouraged any more questions. Shigeo couldn't exactly say why that was, and could only guess that the two friends had a falling out before Shizuka died.

His heart clenched uncomfortably when he thought about it. What if that was him and Ritsu, or his parents, or Master, or Hanazawa? Someone from the Body Improvement Club, or maybe even Ekubo? 

Disagreements were tough. Shigeo often sweated when he spoke up, curling his fingers into soft fists that made his blunt nails leave crescent marks on his palm. They were difficult and terrifying. He didn't like the pressure in being made to answer this way or that, disliked getting roughed up and hurt when he said the things he believed were true but others disagreed with.

He was getting into more and more fights, too. Even if he started out trying to protect people, he was afraid of losing control. When it happened and he lost consciousness, people got hurt.

Shigeo knew he had to learn to be better. So he could stop relying on these powers. Like Master Reigen, he wanted to know how to speak better. If his words got through, maybe he'd be able to convince other people not to fight.

But what if if he wasn't able to talk with someone again after that and they died without even being able to patch things up with their ghost?

It sounded very lonely. 

He couldn't understand why Watanuki and Shizuka didn't talk to sort it out when they still cared for each other. Watanuki kept remembering Sayaka's great grandfather, and Shizuka didn't want Watanuki to see him because he'd be in pain.

Master Reigen would know. He was good at dealing with people.

Maybe now, at least Shizuka could meet Master, if Watanuki didn't want to leave the Shop.

"Master can see spirits now."

Shizuka gave him a long, measured look and drank from the cup he always seemed to have on him. It was the same expression Watanuki had when they first met and Shigeo turned down the offer to wish something.

 _Thank you,_ Shigeo barely stuttered out, fingers worrying the fabric of his uniform pants. _But I want to try and do it, without using psychic abilities._

 _So you can,_ Watanuki finally allowed with a thoughtful sip of his tea, and Shigeo thought his tiny smile looked sad.

The Shopkeeper never brought the matter up after that. 

"Tell me," Shizuka said.

So Shigeo did in halting words. About Ritsu being kidnapped. About Claw. About nearly having to harm people, nearly bursting at the seams between the pressure of having to fight to live and the rule to not harm others. Hanazawa urging him to fight, or else they'll die. Ritsu getting hurt. Master telling him to run away and doing what he could. Realizing he was the only one who could do anything about it. He didn't want them to die. 

It's okay, Shizuka-san. He wanted to.

Ritsu said he was afraid of stressing him too much. 

Back at Claw's base, Master Reigen pulled him back from not being able to breathe. Shigeo hadn't blanked out that time. Maybe he could do the same here.

Master Reigen told him that he, Shigeo, was the one who was going to suffer in the end if he fought back without care, so Shigeo left it to him, and felt clearer than he had in days. Master told the Scars that they needed to live in reality to make it big, and got them to stop fighting. Well, most of them. A boy with crimson hair took out the old man.

The backs of Shigeo's shoes were probably dirty now after scuffing them on the ground. He'd need to clean them when he got home.

“Hn.” It sounded like approval and something else. Shizuka dipped his fingers to the cheek that, just a few days before, was still swollen from a punch sent his way, and placed a broad hand over his head. It was approval and concern he’d been injured in the first place. "You stayed awake through a difficult few days."

Shigeo nodded. Being able to talk about what happened made him feel lighter, helped him understand what else he could've done better. Like Master Reigen, Shizuka-san also gave good advice. He was one of the few people Shigeo told about what happened when he woke up from the fight with Hanazawa.

"Why don't you try archery?"

That wasn't the guidance he expected.

"Um." Shigeo looked down as he considered this. Unlike Shizuka and Sayaka, he didn't need a bow to exorcise spirits. "I don't want to hit someone."

"You don't have to," Shizuka said with the tone of a seasoned lecturer. "To shoot correctly, you'll have to reach a state devoid of thought and illusion. In other words, you can clear your mind even if you're angry or under pressure."

 _Munen musou._ It sounded deep. Shigeo couldn’t grasp the full meaning and tradition behind those words, but Shizuka’s reason for recommending it made sense.

"It sounds hard."

"But not unattainable." Shizuka poured more drink into his cup. Shigeo hadn't asked where the older man kept on getting refills for his flask, and Shizuka never explained. "Much like your training with the Body Improvement Club. If you're okay with that, you may ask my great grandson to teach you. His old bow is stored at the family temple."

"Okay," Shigeo said, heels scraping on the ground beneath the porch's floor boards. "I'll have to tell Master."

To his surprise, Shizuka smirked.

"When he was younger, Sayaka managed to put in enough practice and win the regional championship without his father knowing until it was on the news." The quiet pride in his tone was unmistakable, as was the undercurrent of amusement. "There's no need for you to hide like he did, and he'll find a way to match your schedules and other exercise regimen outside emergency calls from Watanuki or your Master."

"Oh."

"Kageyama-kun?"

Shizuka faded into the sunset's light as the sliding door opened. Watanuki poked his head out, followed by a bouncing black mass who threw himself into Shigeo's arms.

"Shigeo! Shigeo, guess what?" Mokona, full of mischief, hopped and wiggled from Shigeo's arms to his shoulder before settling on top of the boy's head. "Watanuki's making daikon salad! And iri dofu, and -"

"Don't crowd him," Watanuki scolded, picking up Mokona by the scruff and looking him in the eye. "Honestly! Go make yourself useful and help Sayaka."

Shigeo perked up at that.

"Sayaka-san's here?"

He didn't want to bother the man too much and he almost got a stomach cramp on the way here, nervous that Sayaka might not have time to help him study. Besides, Shigeo was still wrapping his mind around taking up archery. How could he even pull it off when he couldn't do more than a few pushups? Imagining himself standing tall with the bow wasn't something he could do.

But...

(He could try.)

**Author's Note:**

> I might not have gotten all the unnecessary commas. Let me know if I missed any of those and other typos.
> 
> Comments are loved and appreciated <3


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